Arming Syrian rebels might prove harmful for long-term US interests, President Barack Obama said in a TV interview aired Monday night.
"“One of the challenges that we have is that some of the most effective fighters within the opposition have been those who frankly are not particularly friendly towards the United States of America," Obama said. "Arming them willy-nilly is not a good recipe for meeting American interests over the long term.”
US President said he objects to the idea the US has not been as effective as it could have in contributing to finding a solution to the more than two-year-long conflict.
"This argument that somehow we had gone in earlier or heavier in some fashion, that the tragedy and chaos taking place in Syria wouldn’t be taking place, I think is wrong," Obama said, and added that reaching a solution hinges on efforts on the political, rather than military, front.
"The fact of the matter is, the way these situations get resolved is politically. And the people who are being suppressed inside of Syria who develop into a military opposition — these folks are carpenters and blacksmiths and dentists,” he said.
“The notion that there was some professional military inside of Syria for us to immediately support a year ago or two years ago is wrong.”
- No-fly zone still a no-no
Regarding US involvement in Syria, President said there were some who question US interference in yet another Middle Eastern country.
He said, however, that "the US has a legitimate need to be engaged and to be involved."
"“Now, on the other side there are folks who say, you know, ‘We are so scarred from Iraq. We should have learned our lesson. We should not have anything to do with it," Obama said.
"Well, I reject that view as well because the fact of the matter is that we’ve got serious interests there. And not only humanitarian interests; we can’t have the situation of ongoing chaos in a major country that borders a country like Jordan which in turn borders Israel."
President Obama said he remained skeptical as to whether establishing a no-fly zone over Syria would be helpful.
"Ninety percent of the deaths have not happened in airstrikes. Syrian air operations are not that good. The incidents occur on the field," he said.
